Toby Hanging Tough in Stage 6 of Dakar

With the rally now past the halfway stage and heading back towards the host city of Lima, stage six covered some of the same ground as previous stages. An extremely long day for all competitors, the 838 kilometres total distance included a 336-kilometre timed special. The route took riders through the characteristic soft sand dunes of the Ica desert before subjecting them to faster, more open rocky pistes. A strong wind towards the end of the stage only added to the challenge.

Pablo Quintanilla took victory on the stage ahead of Kevin Benavides and Matthias Walkner, the stage win hoisting him back into the overall lead.

Just 27 seconds adrift from teammate Walkner, Toby Price continues to battle on despite the increasing pain in his wrist. The Australian’s fourth place result puts him in an ideal start position for Monday’s stage seven. He currently lies third in the provisional standings.

Toby Price: “It’s been a really tough day today. My wrist is hurting more and more as the race goes on and it’s making things uncomfortable out there. I’ll keep cruising on though and I’m still in the race, it’s just a bit more like survival mode at the moment. Nevertheless, third overall with four stages left to race is encouraging. The goal is the same – make it safely to the finish – so I’ll keep on pushing on tomorrow.”